Surapajoy

We're learning shapes in class and enjoying using geoboard in class. The first time we used it, the student taught each other how to use it. They were very happy when they form a shape on the geoboard.
" I can make surapajoy (soo-ru-pu-joy)," said one student when he succesfully made a trapezoid on the geoboard. I didn't know what he was saying, maybe it was just him trying to say trapezoid in his own word. I wrote the word down because I thought it was really cute.

A few weeks later I asked the same group of kids to make shapes on geoboard. I asked them to form trapezoid on the geoboard. That baby-talk student asked me, "What is that?" So I repeated, cos I thought he wasn' t listening.

"Trapezoid," said I.

" Is that this one?" he pointed to a square.

"Nope."

"This one?" now pointing to a hexagon.

"That's a hexagon. Make for me a trapezoid."

"I can't. I don't know what that is."

Frustrated, I tried," Surapajoy."

"Oh," he said, and made a neat trapezoid.